Page 50: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (May 2013)

50 Maritime Reporter & Engineering News ? MAY 2013 Ribcraft has had a busy year fulÞ ll-ing orders for state and municipal Þ rst responders, federal agencies, private in-dustry and internationals clients. It had record sales in 2012 and is currently tracking to exceed 2013 projections. Recently it delivered a Ribcraft 7.8 for specialized LNG security and rescue op-erations. Requiring the ability to carry multiple response personnel quickly, the 25.6 ft. Ribcraft 7.8 complete with jock-ey-style pod seating for six passengers and crew features twin 170 hp Volvo Penta diesel engines with Hamilton Jets. The designated power plant delivers a top speed of more than 36 knots regard-less of the conditions. With the dual jet propulsion, the vessel delivers optimal maneuverability, enabling the operators to easily maintain position or quickly maneuver regardless of headway speed. The boat will serve multiple functions for the international client with the pri-mary mission to transport and deploy se-curity and rescue personnel. The RIB is designed as a deployable shipboard ves-sel that is capable of operating in both open sea conditions and near shore shal-low water operations. In addition to crew seating, the boat features adequate deck space for patient transport and treatment. Moose Boats is building a M3-36 pa-trol boat for City of Los Angeles, a boat that features triple 300 hp outboard en-gines. The vessel?s primary responsibil- ity will be for drug and panga interdic-tion off the coast of Los Angeles by the LAPD marine unit. The M3-36 features: 900 hp with 400 gallon fuel capacity, a fully enclosed climate controlled cabin, 7 kW genset, dive door con Þ guration in cockpit and a full suite of navigation electronics including a FLIR camera and AIS unit. The vessel?s secondary mis- sion is to support large dive missions along with LAPD?s primary dive vessel, a M1-46 Moose Boat catamaran which was delivered in December 2012. The new M3-36 Moose Boat joins two addi-tional Moose Boats procured in 2012 via Port Security Grant Program allocations.From Metal Craft Marine, the Kings-ton 32-ft. ridged hull inß atable collar pa- trol boat is the design platform selected as the basis for the proposed new gen-eration of U.S. Navy Force Protection Medium. The Kingston Series has been in the boat builder?s product line since 1987 and has enjoyed success in the pa-trol boat market. The hull is designed to be versatile and has excelled in a wide variety of conÞ gurations; examples of demonstrated performance have been built in sizes from 23 up to 70-ft., with deadrises of six degrees for rivers up to 24 degrees for offshore applications, has incorporated air, foam and air-foam hybrid collar systems and been powered with outboard, sterndrive and inboard water jet propulsion. The Kingston 32 Patrol RIB was originally designed in 2000 for the U.S. Navy Inshore Boat Unit in both a stern drive and diesel water jet propulsion conÞ guration. Twenty boats were built in total between 2000 and 2003 on three separate contracts with the U.S. Navy. Thirteen are still in service today, each averaging over 30,000 hours of operation in the demanding marine environment of the Middle East. Sen-try 32 Patrol Boat: In 2010 MetalCraft Marine U.S. Inc. entered into a strategic partnership agreement with Brunswick Commercial and Government Products Group (BCGP) to design and build high performance aluminum patrol boat. Un-der the agreement, Brunswick Commer- cial and Government Products? (BCGP) will expand their product offerings to include the Sentry aluminum patrol boat line based on MetalCraft Marine?s estab- lished Kingston hull platform. A demo Sentry 32 Patrol Boat was built in 2011 to highlight the strengths of both com-panies. Silver Ships, Inc. provide a wide ar- rangement of RHIBS throughout DOD, Federal and State agencies as well as FMS and overseas market. In business since 1987, it has seen the introduc-tion of the RHIBS into the main stream of contracts and has improved design and functionality to ensure a high per- formance; low life cycle cost approach is maintained throughout the designs. ?Successfully developing solutions to requirements has allowed Silver Ships to be awarded contracts which integrate ballistic protection, counter measures, C4SIR systems and ability to maintain low level sound and reduced impact to crew through use of shock mitigated seats, ß oors and the ergonomics of the RHIB? said Scott Clanton, Director of Special Projects. Recently Silver Ships delivered, through U.S. Navy FMS of-Þ ce, six Riverine Patrol Boats (RPB?s) to support operations in the Philippines. The boats are approximately 40 ft. long, soft-sided watercraft. While the RPB?s technical challenges were different from other boats produced by our company, it?s this challenge that continuously keeps everyone here engaged.Silver Ships produces RHIBs between 21 through 40 ft. in length that are cen-ter consoles through full cabin; outboard and inboard powered. While the majority of the RHIBs are twin engine powered, Silver Ships is developing a new single engine designed primarily for Law En-forcement, which will be shown at the National Sheriff?s Association Confer- ence this June in Charlotte, NC.For 2013 Ocean Craft Marine (OCM) introduced a 9.5m RIB called the Vessel Interdiction and Boarding- Team Delivery Craft (VI-BTD). This high-endurance platform was designed for elite law-enforcement and military PRODUCT FEATURE RIBS & PATROL CRAFT RIBS & Patrol Craft As technologies have enabled small patrol craft to become increasingly fast and maneuver- able, the challenge today is to enhance and ensure the safety of crew onboard. This month?s focus on RIBS and Patrol craft spotlights some recent innovations from industry leaders. RibcraftMoose BoatsMetal Craft MarineMR #5 (50-57).indd 50MR #5 (50-57).indd 505/3/2013 9:56:01 AM5/3/2013 9:56:01 AM